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Riverside resident April Maclean opened Room to Dance, a studio that became Infuse Dance Studio in downtown Riverside. She also is choreographing “Rise,” a dance program set for September at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium.
(Courtesy photo)

She can’t identify one specific moment that created what has become a lifelong passion. She auditioned for and made her first competitive dance team. The same week, she was placed into foster care. Born in Burbank, Maclean found herself moving to Riverside, where she has been ever since.

Being in foster care quickly ended Maclean’s dance participation.

She moved more than 22 times in the next three years and attended more than 13 high schools. At 17 and having recently given birth, Maclean said she left the system with no family connections and ended up homeless.

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Her perseverance won out, however.

She attended Riverside City College and graduated from UC Riverside with a bachelor’s degree in dance. In 2011, she opened Room to Dance, a thriving dance studio for adults that has evolved into Infuse Dance Studio in downtown Riverside. Now she is choreographing “Rise,” her first full-length dance program that will be presented Sept. 9 at Riverside Municipal Auditorium.

“This tells my story of abuse and foster care,” Maclean said. “It is about some really dark places, but equally hopeful ones, too. We are creating choreography that connects with the audience rather than performing for them. It’s forcing me back into some forgotten and really upsetting places, but that’s OK, because it’s not for me.”

April Maclean, a UC Riverside graduate, opened Room to Dance, a dance studio that evolved into Infuse Dance Studio. (Courtesy photo)

Maclean’s goal is to approach non-profit groups that work with foster youth and trauma survivors and invite them to see the show for free.

Maclean said she intends to make “Rise” an intimate show that uses the floor rather than the stage. The performance will be followed by dinner, creating a casual environment she hopes will inspire conversation.

“When I was a teen, I needed hope so badly,” she said. “Looking back, I wasn’t even aware of that need. You just put one foot in front of the other and don’t look around or ahead too much. My goal with this show is to share the worst parts of my experience, but to then follow up with all the most beautiful ones. Children need to know that there is no permanent script in life.”

Maclean has been inspiring people through her work at her studio, as well. Many dancers have been part of the studio since it opened seven years ago, she said.

Riverside resident April Maclean is choreographing “Rise,” her first full-length dance program set for fall at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium. (Courtesy photo)

“Several of our teachers that we have now started as students,” Maclean said.

Infuse gives Inland dancers a place to train, Maclean said, but it also lets people reconnect or fall in love with an art form with which they’ve often lost touch.

“We provide a space that addresses wellness and expression, but the real answer is that we provide a village to escape loneliness,” Maclean said. “The adult world can be a really lonely place, and the community that is built here really serves as a point of connection for all kinds of people.”